Author: borderviolencelesvos

On Monday 4th March, four of the Moria 6, young men from Afghanistan convicted of burning down Moria camp will have their appeal trial against their ten year sentences. This appeal has already been postponed from 6th March last year, leaving the defendants to lose yet another year of their lives trapped in detention. We stand in solidarity with them, letting them know that they are not alone!

To be clear, it is not our business to determine how Moria burned: all we want to say is that without a doubt it had to. For years the situation in the camp had been deteriorating. Originally intended for 2,800 people, the population grew until it peaked in 2019 at around 20,000. It was notorious for a lack of hygiene, lack of basic needs, rapes and stabbings. In the end, those living there had enough, and in the beginning of 2020 they came to the streets to demand better living conditions. The response was a far-right takeover of Moria village and a general acceleration of far-right violence in Lesvos. What followed was a never-ending Covid lock-down on Moria camp, giving the far-right, and the government, what they wanted – no more migrants in public space.

Continue reading Call for Solidarity: Gathering with the Moria 6 outside Mytilene court, 4th of March 8:30

On the 6th of January, an invitation to contractors for emergency needs to strengthen the system of reception of immigrants and refugees in Lesvos was issued by the Greek government totaling a whopping 15 million Euros. The budget provided is allegedly for heating, motor oil, transport of non food items, restoring housing areas, strengthening the health system, and the expansion of the capacity of the Mavrovouni camp. While 15 million euros is already an unfathomable amount of capital to comprehend, the vague description of where this money is supposed to go leaves a lot of questions, which deserve a closer look:

Continue reading A never ending list of Questions